Defiance

How the Bielski Partisans built a village amidst the Nazi death machine.

The Maccabee's revolt against the Greeks is probably the most famous example of Jewish rebellion, when a band of untrained scholars overcame the greatest empire in the world. In modern times, the Israeli army has revived the image of a Jewish fighting force.

Many of us however, still have a stereotyped image of the Holocaust, of millions of Jews marching like sheep to the slaughter, silently accepting their fate. In reality, most Jews lacked the proper information to rebel, and when at last they understood the gravity of their situation, it was usually too late. Beyond this was the inner strength that countless Jews expressed by maintaining their dignity and staying true to their faith even when death stared them in the eye – spiritual heroism on the highest order. The Nazis watched in disbelief as Jews marched to the gas chambers singing in joyous song, proud to die as Jews rather than sink to the twisted level of their murderers.

In the rare instances that Jews did know the reality of the situation ahead of time, however, they rebelled with a vengeance. One well-known act of defiance was the Warsaw Ghetto, where untrained, starving Jews repelled the powerful Nazi army for several weeks, using mostly homemade weapons. In the end, the last of the Warsaw Ghetto fighters either perished or ran for their lives as the Ghetto burned to the ground.

The Bielski brothers had inflicted more casualties on the enemy than the famous Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

This was not the only Jewish rebellion. During the war, rumors began to circulate of a band of Jews who roamed the forests, terrorizing the Nazi regime at every opportunity, looting villages and local farms -- while rescuing men, women, and children from the ghettos and bringing them to safety in the woods. These fighters were known as the "Bielski Partisans," named after the three charismatic brothers who led them. When they came to a town, the tables were turned, and suddenly the Jews were the ones looking down the butt end of the rifle.

By the end of the war, the Bielski brothers had inflicted more casualties on the enemy than the famous Warsaw Ghetto uprising -- over 380 German soldiers and Nazi collaborators fell at their hands. And they saved more Jews than Oskar Schindler -- some 1,230 souls.

This story remains relatively unknown until today. Their story is now being told on the silver screen in Edward Zwick's new blockbuster film, Defiance, featuring Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski.

Jerusalem in the Woods

On June 22, 1941, the Germans began their infamous Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Within two months, most of eastern Poland and all of Belarus had fallen to the Nazi invaders -- an inferno that would eventually consume all the Jewish communities.

Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski ran into hiding, after their parents and other siblings were killed in the Navahrudak ghetto at the beginning of the war. Before being killed, their father David commanded them to stay in the woods. "This war won't last forever," he said.

The Bielskis had been successful farmers and millers before the war. They were no strangers to the woods and they knew how to handle a gun. They followed their father's advice and fled to the woods surrounding their family's farm. Before long, refugees from the ghetto began to join them. Determined to stay alive despite all the death and destruction around them, a makeshift community formed and they started to construct underground bunkers for shelter.

Their forest village had a bakery, school, synagogue, theater and jail.

What began as an act of personal survival became a mission to save as many Jews as possible. And while they carried out acts of sabotage against their enemies, the saving of Jews took precedence. Tuvia Bielski, the eldest of the brothers, often declared that he would "rather save one old Jewish woman than kill 10 Nazis." This is in line with the Talmudic dictum, "He who saves a single life, is as if he saved an entire world."

The natural thing to do would have been to try to save themselves without worrying about anyone else. The Bielskis responded selflessly.

As more and more refugees joined the Bielskis, their forest dwelling eventually turned into an all-out village -- complete with a mill, bakery, bathhouse, medical units, tannery, school, synagogue, and even a theater and a jail. Amongst the members were many skilled workers such as tailors, shoemakers, carpenters and mechanics; they equipped the large community with everything they needed for survival and minimal comfort. A herd of 60 cows provided milk and 30 horses were used for transportation. Two ritual slaughterers supplied the community with kosher meat.

Among themselves, the partisans referred to their forest haven as "Jerusalem in the woods."

When the Soviet General Platon came to visit the village, he was amazed to see the tannery where over a dozen people worked preparing hides for shoes, the bakery ovens full of bread, the soap workshop, and the sausage factory. "Are you also making vodka here?" Platon asked incredulously.

Hunter and Hunted

The Nazis offered a reward of 100,000 Reich Marks for assistance in the capture of Tuvia Bielski, and in 1943 led major operations against partisans in the area. The Bielskis constantly led their group deeper and deeper into the forest to new locations. They were never truly safe and lived in constant fear -- not only of German soldiers, but also of local police and peasants who were happy to turn them in to the Nazis in exchange for some cash or foodstuffs.

Tuvia was a born leader, and he was successful at forming allegiances with the Russian partisans in the area, convincing them that he was fighting for Mother Russia. The Red Army provided them with weapons and supplies, as well as protection from the other various partisan groups in the area who were not particularly fond of Jews.

To ensure their safety, the Bielskis ruled their unit with great vigilance, demanding utter obedience from their members. Although his measures may have been extreme, he felt it necessary to respond harshly to disobedience in order to ensure the safety of the whole. In one instance, Zus had one of his officers executed for leaving a civilian Jew behind during a village raid. Saving Jews was a non-negotiable policy and it wasn't easy to promote such selfless behavior among his men at a time when self-preservation was the norm.

What would we do if we were in their shoes?

Dealing with Nazis and collaborators entailed powerful moral struggles. The Bielskis' ruthlessness was fully unleashed on anyone who turned Jews or partisans into the authorities. Tuvia had a former neighbor beheaded with an ax for collaborating with the Nazis. An informer and his family were shot to death in their home, which was then torched, leaving a sign threatening the same fate for anyone who attempted to follow in their footsteps. No mercy was shown to a group of captured German soldiers, with many willing would-be executioners eager to avenge the death of loved ones.

Although the Torah forbids the taking of vengeance, it does permit killing for self-defense, to stop someone who intends on killing you or someone else. For the Bielskis, it was clearly a matter of both self-defense mixed with vengeance.

After the War

The Nazi fires continued to rage until the summer of 1944, when Red soldiers marched through Belarus, reclaiming it for Mother Russia, spreading the news that Hitler's army had been defeated in the Soviet Union. Just hours after the last enemy lines had been broken and pushed out, an incredulous sight appeared on the outskirts of the village of Navahruda: emerging from the dark forest was a line of Jews nearly a mile long.

Instead of perishing at the hand of the Nazis in ghettos, cattle cars, and gas chambers, this troop of over 1,200 Jews had survived the war living in the woods, and now at the disbelief of the gentile onlookers, had returned to the smoldering ashes of their villages, to put the pieces of their broken lives back together.

Their survival was nothing short of a miracle and it was due entirely to the efforts of the three Bielski brothers.

After the war, the Bielski partisans were accused by the Polish government of war crimes against the neighboring villagers, primarily regarding alleged involvement in the massacre of 128 people in the Polish village of Naliboki, as well as numerous cases of armed robbery and looting. Members of the unit denied those charges, claiming they were not in the vicinity at the time.

They moved to Brooklyn and did blue collar jobs.

Toward the end of the war, Asael was drafted into the Red Army, where he fell in combat against the Germans at the battle of Konigsberg in 1945. Tuvia and Zus immigrated to Israel with their families where they fought in the 1948 War of Independence. Tuvia was offered a high-ranking position in the IDF, but he declined, tired of all the fighting. Convinced that the Arab-Israel conflict would never end, they moved to Brooklyn in the mid-1950s in search of a peaceful existence. There, they drove delivery trucks, pumped gas, and did other blue collar jobs, as well as raising large families.

Tuvia and Zus died anonymously, their story fading into oblivion, until it was discovered by Nechama Tec who publicized it in her 1993 book, Defiance: The Bielski Partisans.

The Bielski brothers responded in defense of the Jewish people, risking their own lives instead of taking the easy way out. Their souls were stirred by the spilling of innocent blood and they rose to the aid of their brethren against all odds. They are but another link in the eternal chain of Jewish struggle against darkness.

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About the Author

A native New Yorker, Gavriel Horan left the city right after high school to travel the world in search of spirituality. His journey took him to over a dozen countries where he backpacked, hitchhiked, and worked on farms while studying Native American Shamanism, Eastern Religions, and Islamic Mysticism. He eventually found his way to Israel in 2000 and discovered that Judaism was what he was searching for all along! In Israel he met his wife Rachel, originally from New Jersey. They lived in the Holy Land for eight years, where Rabbi Horan learned and taught Torah while working as a journalist and marketing writer. The Horans recently moved back to New York with their three children to join the team at Aish Albany.

Visitor Comments: 29

(29)
Anonymous,
May 22, 2014 9:04 AM

Defiance

Dr & Mrs Kaplinski were part of the Bielski Group and their great-grand-daughter Aseala was named after Aseal. What an honour. They survived and came to live in South Africa. Today, their son Solly and family all reside in Israel.

(28)
Robert Eugene Reeder,
April 27, 2014 8:49 PM

Truth that needs heard

With G-d, all things are possible.

(27)
Patricia Levi,
June 21, 2011 7:16 AM

Racco's commentary

Yes, you are correct about what it was said in the book but how did you handle such a dificult time knowing that you could be still killed? We were not there. Do not judge.

(26)
Racco Lampone,
June 21, 2011 7:16 AM

Bielski brother killed Jew after the War's end

Towards the end of the book there is an incident were a Jew took to many packages away from the site (in defiance with the order to only take what one can carry on their back)and was shot in cold blood. This was after the war was over (that's why they were leaving the hide out)

(25)
Barbara,
June 21, 2011 7:15 AM

I can''t wait to see the film --- the story of the Jewish heroes needs to be told --- thankfully it will!

(24)
Johnny Sunday,
June 21, 2011 7:15 AM

Sad but wonderful story. I can't wait for the movie. They need to make more like it to show the world the truth.

(23)
Anonymous,
August 12, 2010 7:45 PM

I found the film, "Defiance" and excellent source for knowing about Jewish people that did fight back. From beginning to end, quite a fulfilling film. It was great when, near the end, the Nazi's are trying to kill all of the people... again, and Zus with the Jewish men that had gone to fight with the Russians against the Nazi's just burst out of the forest and slaughtered the hideous Nazi forces. Then, when they are walking in the forest and it is spring and the forest is coming alive with color and the fruition of children in the group of survivors, Zus bumps into Tuvia and the beauty plus the determination to save as many people as possible gave them so much hope. It is truly a film worth purchasing. The excellence of the production is obvious and the detail in showing the Jewish people are people... very human in every way. Sometimes good and sometimes not so good. War and devastation can bring out the best in some and the worst in others. A question that I would ask and have of myself would be what would you do if this kind of predation began again and my answer is I would fight back and without hesitation. We as a people have the right to survive and self defense is condoned in Torah as well as civilian rule of law. Fighting back is not always violence. Fighting back can be surviving and living and loving the Jewish lifestyle. And I do.

(22)
Johnson-South Africa,
May 11, 2010 9:14 PM

I saw the movie Defiance and it's done well but does not compare to "The Bielski Brothers" book, by Peter Duffy, Do yourself a favour if you have not read it and get it, it should be standard reading material in all school across the globe. I cried, laughed on the odd occasion, felt so proud at times, it struck such a deep chord with me, my grandfather also just escaped but his entire family were murdered.These brothers are heroes of the world and it's just too bad they never got the honor they deserved as Tuvia said in his diary, "I will be famous when I'm dead", too sad. What courageous souls!

(21)
B. Dickson,
June 9, 2009 9:03 AM

Respect from a brother of combat

I am not a Jew. I am a Southern Baptist. I fought in the VietNam war with the Marines of the 1st Divison in 1968-69. My hat is off to the brave men and women who resisted the tyranny and hate of the Nazis during that period of history. There will always be those who attack the story of these brave men but the fact remains they upheld the core values of their faith and did what they had to do. To those of you who are decendants of those brave people, never forget who you came from. The world is again turning into an ugly place and I pray for the survival of the Jews and would gladly stand beside anyone of the IDF today to fight the tide that is coming.

(20)
Debora,
January 5, 2009 1:54 PM

Documentary

I saw documentary by Ray Mears (he teaches surviving skills) where all film was dedicated to Bielski and the way they survived in woods during war.
That is how I heard of them.
Amazing story!

(19)
Ethel,
January 3, 2009 4:44 PM

The missing brother

In this review as well as most others, the youngest brother, Aron, is ignored. He too was with them in the forest when he was only about 14, worked with Zus in Brooklyn but unfortunately became a criminal and ended up in jail where I think he is now.

(18)
Robert Goldman,
December 31, 2008 5:17 PM

WOW :-0 SPEACHLESS!

May the almighty raise the souls of these brave human beings who save untold numbers of Jews and thier children and future generations. Robert Goldman

(17)
Anonymous,
December 30, 2008 5:52 PM

Well meaning?

I am not so sure the peanut farmer is well meaning . The security of Israel is paramount. Does anybody really believe deals can be made with Hamas? That peace is possible with murderers? I think not, peanut farmers aside.

(16)
Steve Edelman,
December 30, 2008 1:37 PM

Other little known rescue.

The Belgians were particularly successful at protecting their Jewish citizens during World War II. Very little has been said about what is probably the only ambush of a Nazi death train to Auschwitz. This amazing and verified event (from lists of those transported and from survivors) is chronicled in "The Twentieth Train" by Marion Schreiber, Grove Press ISBN 0-8021-1766-X Originally published in German in 2000 and translated and published in English by Shaun Whiteside. The ISBN is for the English version. This would also make a great movie.

(15)
LazerK,
December 30, 2008 5:53 AM

Avenging blood is a mitzva

"..the Torah forbids the taking of vengeance" Correction: It is a mitzva to avenge the blood of one's murdered relatives. Dovid HaMelech avenged the death of his family and in more modern times, Rav Oschry encouraged a Lithuanian Jew who knew the identity of his parent's killers to avenge their blood in post-war Lithuania. Please, there is no need to be apologetic about a Torah value.

(14)
Debby Green Gilden,
December 29, 2008 8:28 PM

A partisan's village in the forest

Years ago, Mrs. Gilmer, A"h, mother of Steve Gilmer, owner of Quality Kosher in Atlanta, told me that she survived the Nazis in a partisan 'village' deep in the forest, which had a bakery and other necessary operations and that the nearby peasant villagers bought from them. It was also where she met her husband.

(13)
Laya,
December 29, 2008 3:22 PM

wow

amazing story. i wonder just how many other heros' stories are already lost. thanks for this article, it's an inspiration.

(12)
Anonymous,
December 29, 2008 12:53 PM

Never again Masada

The present enemy of Isreal, Jews and any non-Muslin continues to spread death without regard. There can be no compromise with security and freedom, regardless of what well meaning peanut farmers say.

(11)
yanky,
December 29, 2008 12:17 PM

"marching like sheep to the slaughter"

Dear Anonymous #8,
It's just a translation of "k'atzon latevach yuval.........
I'm sure our author isn't the first one to use this expression about wholesale Jewish slaughter........

(10)
clyde patrick,
December 29, 2008 11:45 AM

all should be like the BIELSKIE BRO'S.

More people should be like these brothers.stand up to tyranny, and it is about time ISRAEL started fighting the terrorist. What took so long?

(9)
Anonymous,
December 29, 2008 10:43 AM

saw this in an advanced screening

This is one of the greatest & most riveting films I have ever seen! I actually did not want it to end! It is a remarkable true story of courage and honor among unspeakable horrors. This movie should be must-viewing by all decent people, not just Jews, so that the world will be informed about these remarkable people & what they did & accomplished against seemingly insurmountable odds. Great acting, too. An over-all winner that everybody should make it a point to not miss!

(8)
Anonymous,
December 28, 2008 4:00 PM

marching like sheep to the slaughter,

I have seen this line too many times in the last few weeks. It is insulting to those who died and a demeaning description of those kedoshim who lost their lives in that horror.

(7)
Colin Plen,
December 28, 2008 12:40 PM

This story must be publicised

From the first time I heard about this family and what they achieved it has made me feel very proud

(6)
Anonymous,
December 28, 2008 10:33 AM

Amazing....

This was an Act of G-d alone. He is the one that protected these men and hid them. In spite of all the evil that was release at this time...G-d was there...wonderful story..thank you.

(5)
Yakov Bielski,
December 28, 2008 8:21 AM

Present day Defiance

Yesterday yet another war for our existance begain. My father Zus Bielski understood that one that is intent to killing you will not listen to reason. After killing one family of collaborators for turning in Jews the message was clear all about the land. Not all listened and the Bielskis continued to kill and burn. After about six months Jews were turned over to the Bielskis and the Bielskis stopped the killings. So it is now and its up to the IDF to be as least as ruthless, with no remorse, to do the same, see Defiancemovie.com.

(4)
sho770,
December 28, 2008 8:17 AM

thank you.

Thank you for sharing this story with us. My maternal grandparents remind me often of the Warsaw ghetto uprising - my grandma left Poland fo Belgium as a child before the war and my grandfather wassent at 19 to England in 1939, while all his family was killed in the Warsaw ghetto.
But I didn´t know a thing about the Bielsky brothers.
May their soul rise in Heaven and their offspring live in the way of Torah in their merit.

(3)
Beverly Fettman,
December 28, 2008 7:50 AM

A truly inspirational story, one of many defiant acts that happened everywhere..

It is heroes as these that should be told every Chanukah.
So too, should heroes of the IDF be compiled for reading by all school children.

(2)
Aviva,
December 28, 2008 7:22 AM

True Heroes

what an amazing story of bravery with morals and values and Divine Providence.
This is a story to teach our children along with the Chanukah story of Yehuda Hamacabbi.

(1)
Anonymous,
December 28, 2008 6:51 AM

NO WORDS

I WILL ONLY LET YOU KNOW THAT I AM THE PROUD DAUGTHER OF TWO OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE WITH THEM,AND MY MOTHER ALWAYS WAS SINGING THE PARTISAN SONG AND TELLING ME WHAT THEY DID,THANKS

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

With stories and insights,
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